Computer guys blogging about everything!

A place to discuss computer related issues including web site design and network security.
A page of technical rants, reviews and problems I see in the technical world and in the general society.

August 11, 2014

Let's talk about selfies

Since I can't make people stop taking selfies I'd like to offer some tips on how to take better, more productive and meaningful selfies.

I look at a LOT of images in a weeks time both amateur and professional and here's what I have to say for now

For god sake stop looking at the screen on your phone. Look at the camera (i.e into the picture / at the viewer)

Take some time, as much as you need to find a visually pleasing background. FYI, bathrooms are not visually pleasing and we don't want to see your toilet.

Take the time to pose. Not every selfie has to be a feeble attempt at sexy. Selfies are NOT sexy.

For some reason people think they have to be "sexy" in selfies, so lets talk about that.

Taking half your clothes off doesn't make you sexy and being sexy doesn't mean taking half you cloths off. There's nothing wrong with great nude or lingerie images but if you're not going to make a valiant effort at completing and scene then just don't.

Hand bras are never acceptable, if you don't want to show your breasts then leave your top on. Maternity photos may be an exception to that.

Posing with your ass sticking out with half bent knees looks more like you're taking a crap than it is flattering. Stand up straight and make an effort to look good.

At least make an attempt to frame the picture properly. Cut off hands and feet are never acceptable

If a picture is blurry, not in focus or has exposure issues then just don't post it. Why do you want the worst image possible of you posted on the Internet? You don't have to post EVERYTHING.﻿

Dell's latest problem.

It appears that certain 17" Dell laptops are supplying AC voltage to the chassis screws. Between 19 and 139 volts. This anomaly has resulted in everything from damaged components in the unit to an actual electric shock the the user.

November 12, 2006

Internet Explorer 7 Breaks Stuff

Ok so I waited until the final release was out. Apparently it didn't matter. After upgrading to IE7 I very quickly became frustrated for several reasons.

Lack or tool bar control;
2 things here, The address bar is at the top and there's no way to change it. Drives me nuts up there. The second is a much bigger problem. There's a new 'command bar' at the bottom of the pile which also can not be moved or removed. I hate it, it takes up to much screen real estate and is mostly useless.

Breaks several important programs;
I have confirmed that IE 7 is NOT compatible with any version of Intuit Quick Books older than and including 2005. Microsoft, this is not considered a good thing. What's the deal here.

A little less important but serious none the less is that IE 7 totally breaks Apple iTunes beyond repair. I was forced to remove and reinstall iTunes from scratch.

Randomly clears cookies
Upon a system reboot I'm finding that all my saved login information disappears, but not every time. It's totally random. Recently typed form info is also erased, again, not every reboot.

The Image Tool Bar
Apparently enough people said that they didn't use this feature, so rather than turning it off Microsoft decided to eliminate it totally. So those of us who used it every day, can't. One of the most useful features in IE and they remove it.

Good going, that's a big step forward. I think you should remove spell check from Word because I can spell quite well and I don't use it. That's not really true but you get the point.

So here it is
IE7
Lacks the ability to totally customize tool bars
Breaks Intuit Quick Books 2006 and older
Breaks Apple iTunes beyond repair
Randomly clears cookies on rebooting
Lacks the images toolbar so many of us have come to love

The only thing good i will say is that the upgrade itself went very smoothly. Other than that I think I'm removing IE 7 totally

As of Dec 4th I would like to add that the installation of IE7 also seems to have broken the Apple Quicktime plug in and player. I have reinstalled both twice but they keep breaking. After a day or two of being installed, if I visit a page with a Quicktime movie on it my browser crashes and closes.